Today is a dreary, rainy day; a day where you want to stay inside drinking hot chocolate and watching movies. But, we actually had fairly decent weather this autumn, and Lucy and I managed to get out-and-about a few times. Here are the places we visited in October and November! I hope you enjoy the pictures and that this post inspires you to get out on the weekends and experience what your area has to offer, be it shopping, walks, or historical places.
Millets Farm Centre
Back in October when I was on the hunt for artificial flowers, we visited Millets to check out their selection. You can see which flowers I picked for my autumn arrangement here. Millets is a great place for poking around looking at gardening bits. They have a farm shop, a cafe, a petting zoo and falconry centre, a corn maze, and pick-your-own fields. However, my favourite part about Millets is their Christmas section. They go absolutely bananas at Christmas and it gets better every year.
Last year we bought Edgar the Christmas gnome (you’ll see him eventually in a Christmas decor post). This year they had animatronic reindeer who sang in husky smoker voices (very weird, but hilarious) and a post box that talks to you; it’s reminiscent of the Thomas the Tank Engine characters. We’re planning to go in a week or so to pick out a couple Christmas ornaments, but in the meantime here is a sneak peek of their Christmas section and pumpkin patch!
North Leigh Roman Villa
This is one of those places that is close to our house and we always drive past the sign post and think “we really should visit”. Well, two years later, we did! There isn’t really much left of the Roman Villa, being old and what not, but the area is beautiful for walks and the mosaic tiles that are protected in a covered shed are quite beautiful.
Minster Lovell and Dovecote
We decided to hit up two historical places in Oxfordshire in one go and headed to Minster Lovell after visiting the villa. This is the ruins of a 15th Century manor house that was built by Baron of Lovell and Holand. After several changes in ownership over time it was abandoned and then demolished in the 18th Century. The large structure was once the great hall and it sits next to the River Windrush — an idyllic place for walks and picnics!
A Tour of Oxford
My friend Alysha came to visit from Canada a few weeks ago and we took her to the most impressive and quaint parts of Oxfordshire we could think of. This included Blenheim Palace (you can read about my visits here), Burford, and Port Meadow.
Burford is a medieval town on the edge of the Cotswolds. It’s a great place to visit for a bit of a wander and to work up an appetite by walking up the hill. We stopped in a couple of the shops and then had afternoon tea in Huffkins Cafe.
Port Meadow and Godstow Abbey
After visiting Burford we went into Oxford for a walk at Port Meadow, which is a large area of common land beside the River Thames. Along the walk is also Godstow Abbey. Built in the 12th Century, this nunnery is also the burial place of Henry II’s mistress, Rosamund Clifford. There’s isn’t a lot left at these ruins, but the cows don’t seem to mind and they enjoyed posing for their Canadian visitor!
That’s all for my 2017 autumn outings—roll on holidays! Next week I’m posting a recipe for a pear and blackberry cake. Lucy’s parents came for dinner and I’m not shamed to admit that I had two servings of dessert, it’s that good.
Reader Comments